Hills and Hornsby council chatter

Spoil mum with high tea at Bella Vista Farm Park’s newly restored historic homestead on May 10 and 11.

Look at that span: In 1889, the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge was the longest bridge in Australia. Picture: Hornsby Council

NSW Governor Marie Bashir will be among the guests at a festival organised by Hornsby Council to mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge.

“This was a major milestone that is well worth remembering, not just for Hornsby shire but for the entire nation,’’ mayor Steve Russell said.

He was making reference to a speech Sir Henry Parkes gave at the opening of the bridge on May 2, 1889, in which he made the bridge a powerful symbol of Federation.

“The bridge created the final railway link that joined South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland together, becoming a major symbol of the move towards Federation,’’ Cr Russell said.

The bridge was at the time the fourth-largest bridge constructed in the world and the only steel-trussed bridge of its type in Australia.

Previous bridges were built with wrought iron.

The council’s festival is on Dangar Island on May 3 and 4.

It includes a free exhibition telling the story of the bridge, a cruise of the Brooklyn River with the river postman (bookings: 0400 600 111), a river tour aboard the historic Banksia Ferry from Dangar Island ($7.50, departs 11am and 2pm) and kids’ events in the park.

A separate application for centre alterations will be determined by a Joint Regional Panel as it has a capital investment value of $164 million. The panel looks at applications with a CIV of between $10 million and $20 million.

The Hills mayor Michelle Byrne has renewed calls for council amalgamations.

While she welcomed Pru Goward and Paul Toole — the new NSW government ministers for planning and local government — to their respective portfolios, she also urged them to ‘‘push on with much-needed reforms’’.

“We need code-assessable development, we need to scrap regional planning panels . . . we’ve got too many councils in NSW, with too many of them being propped up by grants,’’ Cr Byrne said.

‘‘We unanimously voted to alter our boundaries with Hornsby, Hawkesbury and Parramatta to form a new, larger council.

‘‘We would be happy to speak to Minister Toole about our proposal and how The Hills Council can help get the ball rolling on local government reform.”

The Hills mayor Michelle Byrne is inviting the public to comment on the review of environmental factors for the Showground Road widening project in Castle Hill.

It is on exhibition online, at The Hills Council and Castle Hill Library.

The project affects the section of Showground Road between Carrington and Old Northern roads.

“We’ve badgered Roads and Maritime Services about this project for many years and we make no apologies for that,” Mayor Michelle Byrne said.

“We support what the NSW government and RMS have in mind and I thank them for moving ahead with this project.”